Yu-Gi-Oh! Ain Soph
by Orochinagi
Summary: Original story based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. Decades ago, the secret organization ELOHIM was founded in Neo Tokyo with the purpose to secure the order and peace for the citizens as well as to guide mankind through the "right" path. During a mission, Yushi Kusanagi, the Number:07 of ELOHIM, meets Satsuki Yozora, a duelist who owns a card that ELOHIM has been longing for.
1. A chance meeting with the red-eyed Devil

**Yu-Gi-Oh! Ain Soph**  
**Phase 01: A chance meeting with the red-eyed Devil.**

As the darkness of the night had already conquered the sky, outside the Kaiba Corp Duel Stadium #15 on the crowded and lively metropolis known as Neo Tokyo, numerous duelists were commenting about the U-18 Duel Tournament that had taken place some hours ago, others simply left the dome-like structure, heading back to their homes in order to reflect on their plays and prepare new strategies.

Among those people, a black-haired girl of slender figure wearing a white sleeveless lace chiffon blouse and blue skinny jeans passed through the automatic door of the stadium. As she left the building, she took a card encased in a crystal frame from a brown satchel around her right shoulder.

"_Such a cute and shiny prize-card you are!"_ she thought while staring at the crystal framed card "…_but I'm sorry I'll have to sell you since I have to pay my fees"_ she sighed.

The girl abruptly stopped as the traffic lights in front of her turned red. "_It's been nearly two weeks since I left the Duel Academy and this has become my regular schedule: participating in tournaments and selling the prizes to card collectors… somehow I feel so empty"_

The girl then put the crystal framed card back into her bag. Her name was carved at the backside of the crystal trophy awarded to the winner of the tournament: Satsuki Yozora.

While Satsuki eagerly followed the countdown for the traffic lights to change colors, her attention was drawn by a huge screen placed in one of the skyscrapers of the city which was broadcasting the latest news.

"…This afternoon, the so-called Arsonist Duelist, Goro Mukai, attacked Rokkaku's Card Games Shop. The Neo Tokyo Police Department is working hard to find his whereabouts; this is the third shop attacked since this criminal started his havoc in the city. I repeat: this person is very dangerous; if you see him, please call the Police Department, any information will be well rewarded" said the female newscaster while a picture of the criminal was being shown.

"Goro Mukai, thirty-one years old, has been four times in prison. Twelve years ago, he was expelled from Duel Monsters official tournaments for throwing a duel disk to his opponent's face after he lost the match…" described the other announcer, a man, while pictures of that incident appeared on the screen.

"_First the 'Devil', and now an arsonist? Why do they have to use Duel Monsters as a means for their atrocities? Those who taint this game shouldn't even be called duelists…"_ Satsuki was deeply immersed on her thoughts, but she was brought back to her senses when she heard a man's voice from her left side.

"No surprise. The Police Department is as useless as always."

Satsuki turned her head to the left but there was just a young woman behind her. "_A cross-dresser!?"_

"Move!" a mid-aged business man yelled at Satsuki as he rushed from behind "The lights turned green years ago!"

The girl pressured to cross the road and continued her path through the central park until she suddenly noticed something strange "_This is weird, at this hour the park is usually crowded, but right now there is not even a single person"_

After a few more steps, she saw two persons about to start a duel. "_Wait a second, are those rich megalomaniacs again closing this public park just to duel? Jeez!"_ She complained but then felt a chill run down her spine, when she recognized the arsonist Goro Mukai as one of the duelists involved. Without a second thought Satsuki hid behind a tree.

"You brat don't know who I am, do you?" said Goro Mukai as he turned his duel disk on and drew his cards. He was a tall and very muscular man and the scar below his right eye was a notorious characteristic which made him recognizable everywhere.

"Are you going to talk all day?" questioned the mysterious duelist in front of Mukai, a slim young man with brown hair who carried a KC mass production duel disk on his right arm.

""Duel!"" they both shouted at unison.

**[Mysterious Duelist's LP: 4000]**  
**[Mukai's LP: 4000]**

"Heh, I'll let you have the first move, brat" Mukai said with an air of arrogance.

"Fine. Draw!" The mysterious duelist added a card from the top of his deck to his hand. I normal summon Kirin Archer and set one card. I end my turn" A bow holding warrior materialized into the field via the Solid Vision system.

**[Kirin Archer: 3** **/1500/300]**

"What's with that pathetic weak monster? Am I supposed to be scared?" Mukai continued his taunting but quickly realized it didn't affect his opponent at all. "Trying to be tough, eh brat? In that case, I'll make your body feel the power of my deck! Draw!"

"I normal summon Flamvell Firedog" A flaming beast made of lava appeared on his side of the field and howled with fury.

**[Flamvell Firedog 4** **/1900/200]**

"Now, battle phase! Flamvell Firedog, crush his monster!"

The beast's roar was so powerful that it torn the archer apart.

**[Mysterious Duelist's LP: 4000 - 3600]**

"Now my Flamvell Firedog's effect is activated, and it allows me to Special Summon a FIRE monster with 200 or less DEF points from my deck! And it will attack you as well! Appear now, Flamvell Grunika!" A dragonic monster emerged from the flames holding a fireball.

**[Flamvell Grunika: 4** **/1700/200]**

"Attack him directly!"

"Directly you say?" mockingly asked the other duelist and Mukai noticed a new monster on his opponent's field. "When you destroyed my Kirin Archer, I activated Kirin's Call which allowed me to Special Summon a "Kirin" monster from my Deck with 1500 or less ATK, that's why I could summon Kirin Machinist in defense mode"

**[Kirin Machinist: 4** **/400/2200]**

The imposing stronghold was too much for Grunika's attack points.

"I set two cards and end my turn" Mukai was a bit frustrated as he said those words.

"My turn" declared the mysterious duelist. "I send Kirin Machinist to the graveyard to Special Summon Kirin Dark Knight from my hand and then I normal summon Kirin Warrior." The two knights materializing into the field and crossed their swords just to point with them at their enemies afterwards.

**[Kirin Dark Knight: 6** **/2300/1400]**  
**[Kirin Warrior: 4** **/1800/1600]**

"Now, Battle!"

"Not so fast! I activate my trap card, Blazing Flame Veil! This turn, you will take the battle damage I would take from battles involving Flamvell monsters! Are you sure you want to conti-" before Mukai could finish his sentence his opponent interrupted him.

"So what?" he firmly stated and then ordered his monster to battle "Kirin Dark Knight, attack Flamvell Firedog!"

"Damn you! I activate my continuous trap card, Backfire!" Exclaimed a surprised Mukai "_This brat is annoying_"

The heavy armored knight raised his gigantic sword and cut the enemy in half.

**[Mysterious Duelist's LP: 3600 - 3200 - 2700]**

"See? You'll continue taking damage unless you end your turn right now!" yelled Mukai.

"Kirin Warrior, destroy his Flamvell Grunika!" commanded the mysterious duelist. The flaming dragon was torn apart by a flash of light coming from the Warrior's sword.

"But you still take the damage, idiot" mumbled Mukai.

**[Mysterious Duelist's LP: 2700 - 2600 - 2100]**

"_What's this pressure? Although I have twice his life points, I feel as if I'm losing. Just who in the world is this brat?"_ Mukai thought and then looked to the floor when he noticed a drop of sweat fall from his chin.

Mukai then looked at his opponent, noticing the glowing red eyes staring at him. "Red eyes... left-handed... y-you are that rumored 'Devil'!"

The 'Devil' didn't pay attention to his opponent's words and simply stated "When Kirin Warrior destroys an opponent monster as a result of battle, I can add 1 'Kirin' Tuner monster from my deck to my hand. I choose Holy Kirin, and then I set two cards from my hand to end my turn"

"_The 'Devil'?"_ wondered Satsuki who had been watching the whole duel. "_I read about it on the internet. A merciless left-handed duelist who terrorizes Neo Tokyo's streets, but no one knows about his dueling style since no one has lived to tell the tale, or so the rumors say. Also is this voice from the same person at the crosswalk? I can't see his face_"

Mukai was petrified but he continued the duel after wiping the sweat from his face. "During the end phase, if my opponent stupidly declared an attack I can Special Summon a Flamvell monster from my hand through the effect of Blazing Flame Veil. Appear, Flamvell Poun!" He said as a reddish monkey emerged into his field taking a defensive stance.

**[Flamvell Poun: 1** **/200/200]**

"_I must focus, I still have the upper hand and also my reinforcements will come anytime soon"_ Mukai thought and grinned. "Draw!" he shouted as loud as possible to gather strength. "Perfect! Consider yourself doomed!"

"I release Flamvell Poun to Normal Summon Flamvell Commando!" A humanoid monster holding a fire gun materialized into Mukai's field.

**[Flamvell Commando: 6** **/2200/200]**

"And now, I use its effect! By banishing Flamvell Firedog in my graveyard, I inflict 1900 damage to your life points!" The Commando charged his gun and launched a powerful attack towards the left-handed duelist.

**[Devil's LP: 2100 - 200]**

The 'Devil' didn't even move an inch from that attack. "Next, I discard Flamvell Magician to activate One for One, Special summoning Flamvell Baby" A little fireball with human characteristics emerged to Mukai's side of the field with a menacing grin.

**[Flamvell Baby: 1** **/800/200]**

"_Is Ancient Flamvell Deity coming!?"_ wondered Satsuki, recalling the strongest monster of the Flamvell archetype.

"I tune my Level six Flamvell Commando to my Level one Flamvell Baby to Synchro Summon Xaphan the Mad Fire-Raiser!" A fiendish creature with enormous horns emerged from the flames and immediately proceeded gather fire energy into his right palm.

**[Xaphan the Mad Fire-Raiser: 7** **/2600/300]**

"When this card is Synchro Summoned I can banish one of the non-Tuner Synchro Materials used to summon this card and increase Xaphan's ATK power." This action made Xaphan's flames grow with violence as if they were alive.

**[Xaphan the Mad Fire-Raiser's ATK: 2600-4800]**

"_I have never seen a monster like that but as soon as it appeared on the field, the atmosphere changed, how come?_" wondered Satsuki noticing a strange and dark miasma around the Synchro monster.

"Do you know why I am being chased by the Police all over the country!? I am the Arsonist Duelist! I don't care if you are a devil, an angel or whatever; I'll burn you to ashes just like I did with the others in the past, all thanks to this card of darkness that I got from 'That Person'!"

The young man's tranquil facial expression changed a bit as he heard 'That Person' coming from Mukai's mouth.

"What!? That's a card of darkness!? I better call the Police" Nervously muttered Satsuki while she was taking her cellphone out of her bag. Due to her nervousness, she accidentally dropped it while she was inputting the first numbers and much to her misfortune, it landed into the bushes. "_Why does this happen to me?"_ she complained as she started to search for it.

"Heh, Xaphan the Mad Fire-Raiser, finish him! Attack his Kirin Dark Knight!" commanded Mukai

"I activate my trap card, Double Dimension. When my opponent declares an attack, I can banish the attacking monster and one other monster on the field. Therefore, I banish your Xaphan the Mad Fire-Raiser and my Kirin Dark Knight" said the 'Devil' while two vortexes engulfed the monsters into another dimension.

"What? My monster... Damn it, I end my turn"

"During the end phase, both banished monsters return to their respective owner's side of the field" Explained the 'Devil' as both Kirin Dark Knight and Xaphan the Mad Fire-Raiser rematerialized into the field, but this time Mukai's monster had lost its power boost.

**[Xaphan the Mad Fire-Raiser's ATK: 4800 - 2600]**

"_Alright, my monster is still stronger, and my life points are still untouched, I can win this, even if he, by some miracle, destroys Xaphan, Backfire will surely win the duel for me!"_

"My turn. I normal summon the tuner monster, Holy Kirin" A shining six-winged beast resembling a dragon appeared from an orb of light.

**[Holy Kirin: 1** **/100/100]**

"Get ready! I tune my Level six Kirin Dark Knight to my Level one Holy Kirin" The 'Devil' said as Holy Kirin flew to the sky becoming a green ring while the Dark Knight transformed into six stars which passed through the green circle producing an explosion of energy. "Appear now, Eidolon of the South – Suzaku!" A red feathered bird descended from the sky, its sole presence illuminated the sky of that moonless night.

**[Eidolon of the South – Suzaku: 7** **/2500/2000]**

Satsuki stopped her search and contemplated the mighty creature "The Synchro cards are widely deemed as the strongest type of monsters but I have never seen something like this before. It's beautiful yet frightening, and although it's a fire monster it also gives a cold feeling…"

"In addition, when Holy Kirin is used as a Synchro Material for a Synchro Summon, the Synchro Summoned monster gains ATK equal to its level times 100. Therefore, Suzaku gains 700 ATK points, making its offensive power 3200. The drawback is that it only lasts until the end phase and I cannot attack directly with it this turn" He stated.

"_In that case I'm safe. If I can keep my Xaphan alive I'll be able to inflict 1000 effect damage during my turn through its second effect and win this!_" thought Mukai "_But, why won't my hands stop shaking!"_

"I also release Kirin Warrior to activate the spell card Dualcast, now one monster of my choice gains ATK equal to the ATK of my released monster, in other words: 1800" said the Devil, selecting his only monster on the field, Eidolon of the South - Suzaku. The giant bird's feathers turned shinier and redder than before as its attack points were increased once again.

**[Eidolon of the South – Suzaku's ATK: 2500 - 3200 - 5000]**

Mukai was astonished by the huge power of the monster controlled by his opponent. "Fi… Five thousand attack points!? That can't be!"

"Suzaku, attack Xaphan the Mad Fire-Raiser!"

The giant bird soared into the sky and its feathers created firestorm destroying the fiendish monster, and sending Mukai flying due to the impact just to be stopped by a tree.

**[Mukai's LP: 4000 - 1600]**

"Wha... What's this!? I-Is this real damage?" said a scared Mukai and hurried to extinguish a little flame left on his t-shirt.

"You trash" said the 'Devil' with a fiendish glare in his eyes as he was approaching Mukai "This is what those you burned in the past felt"

Mukai slowly stood up laughing "Hahahaha, even if you capture me, it won't change a thing! I have influent allies in the Police Department and the judicial system! And, like I said, you are doomed! My Backfire activates now, reducing your insignificant 200 life points to nothing!"

"It's futile" stated the 'Devil' "I chain my trap card, Synchro Destructor. It can only be activated when a Synchro monster I control destroys an opponent monster, and it inflicts damage equal to half the attack points of the destroyed monster. Furthermore, if the destroyed monster is also a Synchro monster, this effect is applied twice" explained the Devil while two consecutive energy blasts impacted Mukai reducing his life points to zero.

**[Mukai's LP: 1600 - 300 - 0]**

"Damn it! Where the hell are you guys!?" shouted Mukai as he fell on his knees after the holograms disappeared. "Shit. They were supposed to be here minutes ago…" Mukai muttered.

"Nobody is coming. No one can enter this place, and no one can leave either. Now, pay for your sins!" the Devil said while he was getting even closer to Mukai.

Mukai took out his duel disk and viciously threw it towards the 'Devil' who dodged most of the object although it slightly impacted the left side of his forehead.

After realizing the ineffectiveness of his last resort, Mukai pleaded for his life "No, please... I'm begging you, I did... this... all because I... needed... the money and 'That Person' hired me!" he implored "Are you from the Police? I will pay you three times your year salary! I will do anything!"

The 'Devil' then touched Mukai's head with his left hand without saying any word. "I'm not with them, I am from The Sephiroth" he finally stated.

"That... that's just an urban legend... no way! It doesn't exist!" shouted Mukai.

"This is The Last Judgment: you will experience all the pain you have inflicted to innocent people in this life. Whether you live or die depends on your actions." ominously declared the 'Devil' duelist.

After those words, Mukai's body started shaking, and after a long scream his eyes became blank and his body stopped moving leaving the place in a sepulchral silence, but suddenly, the criminal's cell phone started ringing. The 'Devil' took the cell phone out of Mukai's pocket and answered the call.

"Just as I thought, if someone like Goro Mukai is your opponent, the duel wouldn't last more than twelve minutes, even with the card I gave to him" said the voice coming from the phone while the 'Devil' clenched his fist in anger as he recognized the identity of the caller. "So, Yushi… it's been a while, how are you doing?" 'That Person' continued.

"You bastard, sh-" said Yushi, the one called 'Devil', but was cut by the mysterious voice.

"Show yourself? Is that what you were going to say? I can't do that now though" replied the soft and calm voice from the phone after a slight chuckle. "…but I'm looking forward to arrive in Neo Tokyo soon" 'That Person' said after a short pause and ended the call.

Yushi was really pissed off after hearing that voice. He couldn't contain his anger and threw the cell phone to the floor, breaking it. He then advanced a few steps to pick up the SIM card which had flown three meters away from his position. When he turned back he noticed a girl trying to approach Mukai's still body.

"What are you doing?" asked Yushi.

"Is... Is he dead…?" mumbled a shocked Satsuki trying to verify the condition of the criminal.

"How did you get here?" questioned Yushi. His red eyes were fiercely glowing, even more than how they were when he was dueling Mukai. "Did 'That Person' send you as well!?" he said turning his duel disk on.

Soon after that, just like mist hiding the sun, the shadows slowly surrounded both duelists.  
A duel of darkness was about to begin.

To be continued…

**Preview**  
Yushi: In order to keep the order and peace in this city, we, The Sephiroth shall punish the evil ones.  
Satsuki: What's with this dark mist?  
Yushi: It's a game of darkness so you can't run away.  
Satsuki: That's not necessary. From the Ten Commandments of Dueling: Never back down from a challenge!  
Yushi: Ten Comm… Next chapter: The man from Sephiroth.  
Satsuki: Wait a sec; am I going to die as fast as the second chapter?


	2. The man from Sephiroth

**Yu-Gi-Oh! Ain Soph**  
**Phase 02: The man from Sephiroth**

The darkness surrounded Satsuki, everything became black and the air pressure drastically changed, she could not hear any sound from the outside; and in front of her, the one deemed 'Devil' was standing with a menacing stare, as if he was a grim reaper about to devour its victim's soul.

She realized there was no way to escape and turned her duel disk on as well.

"_That's the uniform of my school…"_ Satsuki thought after noticing the clothes of her opponent. Yushi was wearing plaid patterned dark green pants and an unbuttoned pale brown cardigan on top of a black vest. A messy red tie appeared over the vest and a pair of coffee shoes completed his outfit.

"I- I don't know who 'That Person' you are talking about is, but what I do know, is that what you are doing is wrong!" Satsuki declared pointing at the 'Devil' "_I hope I didn't get him angrier" _she thought soon afterwards but the person in front of her remained immutable_._

"Wrong? What's wrong with getting rid of the trash of this city? What good will come if they stay alive?" questioned Yushi and then drew his initial hand of five cards.

Those cold words shocked Satsuki who couldn't even utter a single word after hearing them and just followed her opponent's move, drawing five cards as well.

"Duel!" the ritualistic shout before a game was said only by Yushi.

**[Yushi's LP: 4000]**  
**[Satsuki's LP: 4000]**

"I'll go first" declared Yushi drawing a sixth card from his deck. "I normal summon the Tuner monster Imperial Kirin and then I set two cards to end my turn."

A yellowish beast of dragonic characteristics materialized into the field.

**[Imperial Kirin: 4** **/1600/1600]**

A long silence fell upon both duelists, until Satsuki realized her opponent had finished his turn a while ago and was waiting for her to continue the match.

"…E-Even if you had a grudge against Goro Mukai, you could have used a gun or a knife for all I care, but noooo, you had to use Duel Monsters as your tool of killing. If you continue fighting fire with fire, the only thing you are going to accomplish is to turn the world into a mountain of ashes. Do you even know there is something called Police Department? After I win this duel I'm going to introduce them to you, got it? Draw!" Satsuki's voice was getting louder and louder the more words she said.

"_I don't get this motormouth girl, but I guess she doesn't work for 'That Person' after all. Yet, how did she get here? There were explicit orders to not let anyone enter…" _analyzed Yushi.

"I normal summon Lunar Noble – Lykaom the Full Moon. When Lykaom is normal summoned I can add one 'Lunar Noble - Arthemi the Waning Moon' to my hand" Satsuki explained showing said card to Yushi.

In front of Satsuki, a wild werewolf with golden claws had appeared wearing a shiny silver armor.

**[Lunar Noble – Lykaom the Full Moon: 3** **/1700/100]**

At that moment, Yushi made a slight frown, as words from the past resounded inside his head: "_Listen well, Yushi, if you ever duel the one born under the cursed moon, you will certainly die"_

"_Stupid old hag... Do I have to remember these words every time I face a 'Lunar' player?" _he thought.

"Battle Phase! Lykaom, attack Imperial Kirin!" declared Satsuki, and the werewolf swiftly approached the dragonic beast but was stopped by an invisible barrier.

"I activate my trap card, Kirin's Defensive Art. It negates your attack and also allows me to draw a card from my deck" Yushi described while adding the top card of his deck to his hand.

"I-I set one card facedown and end my turn"

"My turn, draw" declared Yushi. "First I activate the continuous spell card Royal Kirin's Emblem of War. Now, I normal summon Kirin Archer"

**[Kirin Archer: 3** **/1500/300]**

"Get ready! I tune my Level three Kirin Archer to my Level four Imperial Kirin!" Three green rings appeared above the pitch-black sky as Imperial Kirin flew into it. The Kirin Archer changed into three orbs of light which lined up inside of the rings producing an explosion of pure energy. "Appear now! Eidolon of the South – Suzaku!"

**[Eidolon of the South – Suzaku: 7** **/2500/2000]**

The huge vermillion bird descended from the orb of energy and spread its wings announcing its majestic arrival.

"_Is the monster from a while ago"_ thought Satsuki.

"When I Synchro Summon an 'Eidolon' monster I can draw a card through the effect of my Royal Kirin's Emblem of War" explained Yushi.

As he drew a new card, Yushi pronounced "There are duelists like Goro Mukai who use cards of darkness to materialize monsters and inflict real harm but who cannot be punished by the law as they are too dangerous to be captured by the Police. There also exist very influent criminals who use their connections to avoid being judged by the judicial system. In the past, criminal groups would employ young psychic duelists and make use of their latent powers to perpetrate crimes as they can evade the law for not being of legal age. In order to protect this city, we, Sephiroth, shall judge them all"

"_Tell me about influent people, because of them I was kicked out from the Duel Academy but still…"_

"Enough chat. Now, battle!" continued Yushi "Suzaku, attack her monster!" The bird turned its body into flames and flew to the sky just to dive down at the werewolf afterwards producing a powerful blast.

The explosion caused a tremendous current of wind which pushed Satsuki back as her life points were decreased.

**[Satsuki's LP: 4000 - 3200]**

"Wha… this damage is not just Solid Vision…" muttered Satsuki who had difficulties to breathe after receiving the attack.

"I set three cards and end my turn" stated Yushi.

"_A full back row?" _Satsuki worried but then proceeded to place her hand on top of her deck to start her turn.

Satsuki took a big breath "I think I understand you… in the past I got hurt because of this game, but even so I never hated it and neither did I take revenge on my aggressors by doing the same they did to me."

"Are you sure of your words? Aren't you jealous of the power other people has? If you were to get a card that grants you the power to fulfill your desires, wouldn't you use it to get payback?"

"Yeah. I'm jealous of them. I'm jealous of how they can continue with their lives after doing those terrible things. I guess is natural for people to want to try out a power they've just got and subjugate weaker people with those powers, but I'd put myself in their shoes and immediately put the brakes on, because I already know how painful it is… Duel Monsters should not be used for stuff like this; it is supposed to be a fun way of entertainment"

"Good luck telling that to those who commit their crimes using Duel Monsters"

"_Even though he seems to understand, he just won't listen! Alright, I can do it"_ thought Satsuki while quickly glancing at the cards on her hand.

"I normal summon Lunar Noble - Arthemi the Waning Moon" she declared as a maiden with angel wings descended into her field holding a staff and wearing a similar armor as Lykaom. "When Arthemi is normal summoned, I can add 1 'Lunar Noble – Sele the New Moon' to my hand"

**[Lunar Noble – Arthemi the Waning Moon: 4** **/1900/500]**

"And now, by banishing Sele in my hand, I can special summon Lunar Beast – Crescent Bear"

A black bear materialized into the field, standing on its hind legs. It had a cream-colored crescent moon shape on its chest.

**[Lunar Beast – Crescent Bear: 4** **/1400/1500]**

"Next, I activate the spell card Moonless Sky! By returning to my hand all face-up 'Lunar' monsters I control, I can destroy equal number of cards on your field!" She enthusiastically said, expecting her combo to be a success. "I target your Suzaku and that facedown card at the far right" Satsuki pointed at those two cards and after that, two energy beams with the shapes of her previously returned monsters impacted Yushi's cards, disintegrating them.

"_He doesn't feel anything after I destroyed that red bird of his_?" Satsuki thought, trying to understand the expressionless Yushi who just took the two cards, Eidolon of the South - Suzaku and Double Dimension, and sent them through the graveyard slot on his duel disk.

"Are you done?" questioned Yushi who was more annoyed at being stared by that girl rather than for the destruction of his cards.

"I have another effect. Since Crescent Bear was removed from the field for the activation of my spell card, I can destroy one face-up card on the field. I choose Royal Kirin's Emblem of War!" she stated as that spell card was shattered into shiny fragments.

"Now, I banish Lunar Noble – Arthemi the Waning Moon to special summon Crescent Bear again!" The dark bear appeared into the field fiercely glaring at Yushi.

**[Lunar Beast – Crescent Bear: 4** **/1400/1500]**

"And that's not all; I activate my facedown card Moonbow!" A pillar of light descended into the ground as Lykaom the Full Moon rematerialized into the field.

**[Lunar Noble – Lykaom the Full Moon: 3** **/1700/100]**

"Moonbow allows me to revive one 'Lunar' monster and also increases its level by one. Finally, I discard Lunar Beast – Moondog, which increases the levels of all my 'Lunar' monsters by one too"

**[Lunar Noble – Lykaom the Full Moon's Level: 3 - 4 - 5]**  
**[Lunar Beast – Crescent Bear's Level: 4 - 5]**

"Xyz summon…" mumbled Yushi.

"I create an Overlay Network with these two monsters!" declared Satsuki as both of her monsters started to glow and combined into a vortex of energy. "Xyz Summon! Appear now, graceful empress who brings the everlasting moonlight! Lunar Deity – Kaguya the Polar Night!"

**[Lunar Deity – Kaguya the Polar Night: 5** **/2500/2300]**

From a glow of energy emerged a long-haired female warrior wearing a light armor. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she materialized a large scepter full of jewels. Around her, two shiny purple-colored spheres floated as if they were satellites orbiting a planet.

"Battle! Kaguya, attack him directly!" commanded Satsuki "And as a reminder, when Kaguya declares an attack while having Xyz Materials, you cannot activate any card effect!"

The armored lady held the scepter with both hands into the air. As she seemed to be reciting a spell, a myriad of light beams rained from above, impacting Yushi who fell on his right knee.

**[Yushi's LP: 4000 - 1500]**

"Alright, a critical hit! Now I set a card and end my turn" said Satsuki. "_Looks like my eyes have gotten used to this weird dark mist by now…"_ she thought while looking at the surroundings, where she saw Goro Mukai's still body.

While contemplating the seemingly dead man, one of the arsonist's fingers appeared to move. A second later, two of his fingers slowly did the same.

"_He isn't dead? After all he said he didn't actually kill Goro Mukai?"_ Satsuki thought as she turned her eyes to the 'Devil', who was slowly standing up. As Satsuki observed the young man, she noticed something she hadn't spotted before.

"We have to stop this duel and go to a hospital right now!" Satsuki rushed to say.

"Are you saying you want to help that criminal? Just how ridiculous can you get?" retorted Yushi.

"You are injured too! You are bleeding from your forehead!" Satsuki pointed out.

Yushi, who had not realized that wound during the duel, touched the left side of his forehead, seeing the red fluid on his fingertips. While looking for the cause of the bleeding, he recalled when Mukai threw his duel disk at him some minutes ago.

A slight chuckle from the young duelist was heard across the silent and deserted park.

"At the end of a turn in which my Eidolon of the South – Suzaku was destroyed by a card effect, I can special summon it from my graveyard!"

**[Eidolon of the South – Suzaku: 7** **/2500/2000]**

"What!?" Satsuki's eyes widened in surprise, partly because of the revival effect of Suzaku but mostly due to her opponent's will to continue the match "_He still wants to continue the duel?"_

"Suzaku is like the phoenix, it dies only to be reborn again!" confidently stated Yushi. "And also, it banishes the card whose effect destroyed it"

Satsuki was forced to move her Moonless Sky card into a deck box around her waist, where two other of her cards also rested.

"My turn!" said Yushi and proceeded to draw a card. After confirming his new card for a while he directed some words towards the girl.

"You are naïve. You say this game was created as a fun way of entertainment? Let me tell you something about history. The roots of this game trace back to the ancient Egypt, where chosen sorcerers would fight putting their lives on the line. Those sorcerers, commanding spirits known as Ka, would engage into deadly duels that could only be stopped after one of the participants died. Can you truly say it was enjoyable and fun?"

"_I remember that being mentioned at class in the Duel Academy"_ thought Satsuki. "I understand that Duel Monsters related incidents have happened through history but …"

"I activate my trap card Revival Gift" declared Yushi "Be reborn! Imperial Kirin!"

**[Imperial Kirin: 4** **/1600/1600]**

As the dragonic monster appeared on the field, at the same time two dark frog-like creatures emerged from the ground in front of Satsuki.

"With this card not only my tuner monster is special summoned from my graveyard, but also you get two Gift Fiend Tokens on your field" explained Yushi. "And they are summoned in attack mode!"

**[Gift Fiend Token #1: 4** **/1500/1500]**  
**[Gift Fiend Token #2: 4** **/1500/1500]**

"Now, Suzaku! Attack the Gift Fiend Token from the right!"

The red bird launched a wave of feathers which turned into a hurricane of flames, increasing the temperature of the place.

The darky frog-like monster was terrified and hid behind Satsuki who reacted to the attack.

"I activate my trap card, Moon Reflection on the Water!" as she said those words, a blurry image of Satsuki's Xyz monster, Kaguya the Polar Night, appeared in front of the attacked Token.

"When my opponent declares an attack while I control a 'Lunar' Xyz monster I can activate this card to destroy the attacking monster and inflict damage equal to its current ATK!"

"It's futile" remarked Yushi "I chain my second trap card, Kirin's Enlightenment Art!"

The Imperial Kirin started to glow and turned into star dust, surrounding Suzaku.

"By releasing a 'Kirin' monster I can make one card on the field immune to destruction for the rest of the turn" calmly stated Yushi.

"No way!" screamed Satsuki as the blazing whirlwind pierced through the blurry illusion and ripped apart the Token.

**[Satsuki's LP: 3200 - 2200]**

"And now, my final trap card activates! Synchro Overlimit! When a Synchro monster I control destroys an opponent monster, that Synchro monster can attack one more time."

The vermillion bird fanned its wings and created another flame hurricane, directing it towards the other Token monster.

"_He isn't even paying attention to my Xyz monster!?"_ thought Satsuki, covering herself from the impact. The flames engulfed the dark creature who suffered the same fate as its twin.

**[Satsuki's LP: 2200 - 1200]**

"_Normally Synchro Overlimit would have destroyed that Eidolon of the South - Suzaku by now, but this guy's Kirin's Enlightenment Art is still on effect, and even if it wasn't, Suzaku would revive at the end phase. Such a clever strategy"_ said Satsuki to herself, unconsciously smiling.

"What are you so happy about? This ends now! I activate my spell card Synchro Flash!"

"S-Synchro Flash!?"

"I release my Eidolon of the South – Suzaku to inflict damage to your life points equal to the half of my Synchro Monster's ATK points!"

The giant bird's body started to shine and turned into an energy orb of its condensed energy. The flaring red orb flew towards the girl and impacted her directly in the chest, pushing her back a few centimeters.

Two quiet seconds passed but no change on the girl's Life Points was displayed.

"I'm not going to lose against someone who doesn't even enjoy this game" slowly said Satsuki, still looking at the floor and holding her ribs, slightly hurt from the last series of attacks she had received.

Even after those words, Yushi remained silent, expecting an explanation soon.

"If I would take effect damage from my opponent's card while I control no spells nor traps, I can reduce that damage to zero and special summon this monster from my hand"

As Satsuki said those words, a winged brown ball of fur with big silver eyes descended to the field. In the middle of its forehead, a crescent moon symbol was emanating radiant energy.

**[Moon Kuriboh: 1** **/300/200]**

"Thanks… Moon Kuriboh… now let's kick this guy's ass toget-"

Before she could finish her sentence, she noticed her opponent was turning his duel disk off. At that very moment, the dark mist that surrounded both duelists was slowly fading away.

"He-Hey… Are you running away!?"

"You better get out of this place soon if you don't want to get in trouble. In some minutes my subordinates will come to clean up this mess" said the young man as he walked away.

When Yushi disappeared from Satsuki's sight, she proceeded to leave the place while carefully hiding from a group of people in black suits who entered the park at the same time of her departure.

Some blocks ahead, the 'Devil' slowly walked, leaning his body against the walls of the city in order to keep himself from falling, his steps were dizzy-like, his legs felt weak and his head was slightly spinning.

"_I was expecting her to fall unconscious from the Duel of Darkness but it never happened. She even seemed to get... stronger?"_

"Now, Timeless Reaper Kairos, attack directly!" Yushi heard a familiar voice coming from a non illuminated alley.

**[Timeless Reaper Kairos: ?/?/?]**

"Remember, man, that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return" said a fairly tall young man with dark brown hair and blue eyes, as his opponent's body vanished into sand. "And don't think I have forgotten about you. Timeater! Attack that small-fry directly!" he continued despite his opponent's pleads for mercy.

**[Timeater: 6** **/1900/1700]**

"Hajime… Kurusu." muttered Yushi, unshaken by the defeated duelist's screams and whose body was slowly turning into sand.

"You sure took your time, my dear Yushi-kun" said Hajime Kurusu, standing in the middle of the sand and surrounded by the duel disks and clothes of his defeated opponents. "I too just defeated all the members of Goro Mukai's gang" he sinisterly grinned, turning his duel disk off.

Yushi simply observed the cards scattered across the alley.

"You see, I wanted to watch your duel so badly that I might have gone a bit overboard with those guys" the tall man said as he wiped some dust left on his blue blazer and then turned around to face his fellow duelist.

"Curse you!" was barely heard from the defeated duelist, who soon afterwards had become a pile of sand.

"My, my, how reckless of you to summon a Duel of Darkness after all those missions you took this week. Could it be that you heard some news about 'That Person'?" Kurusu chuckled seeing Yushi heavily exhausted.

"Pipe down" said Yushi, as he leaned against a wall.

"It is even more reckless to deliberately stop a Duel of Darkness, no wonder you are so worn out. Now the question is, why such a change of heart?"

"Kurusu, tell The Trinity that I've found one of those cards we've been looking for. Also, have the Research Department examine this SIM Card." requested Yushi, and left the place.

"My pleasure."

To be continued…

**Preview:**  
Satsuki: Why did you have to stop the duel? You know, that's what sore losers do…  
Yushi: That's classified information.  
Satsuki: What's going on with the media giving misleading information about Mukai's incident?  
Yushi: That's classified information.  
Satsuki: A bomb alert as the cause of closing the park? Seriously? You know that's not what really happened.  
Yushi: That's classified information too. More importantly, why are there so many pictures of cats… Next Chapter: Feel.  
Satsuki: …He-Hey that's my cellphone! Isn't it?


End file.
